KapStone Paper and Packaging (KS) stock is up in pre-market trading following a ratings upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Deustche Bank (DB).

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (KS) are higher by 2.79% to $31 in pre-market trading on Monday, following a ratings upgrade to "buy" from "hold" at Deutsche Bank (DB) .

The firm said it raised its rating on the company, which manufactures and sells kraft paper and corrugated products for industrial and consumer markets, based on its belief KapStone has significant levers for earnings growth.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates KAPSTONE PAPER & PACKAGING as a Buy with a ratings score of A-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate KAPSTONE PAPER & PACKAGING (KS) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, notable return on equity, good cash flow from operations, solid stock price performance and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: